Pelle Larsson sparks Sweden in Eurobasket

The score at halftime was 35-30. The Swedes broke the game open in the third quarter, outscoring the Brits 26-17. Pelle Larsson and Viktor Gaddefors sparked the offense. Gaddefors was drawing fouls and Larsson knocked down a three. Myles Hesson was the main producer for the Brits, scoring 12 points in the third.

Sweden has a good chance to win on Monday. They play Montenegro in Finland. Montenegro is 0-2 in Group B. Germany is “the pacesetter” in Group B. They have NBA players Dennis Schroder, Daniel Theis and Franz Wagner on their team. Lithuania and Turkey are right behind Germany. University of Miami point guard Shane Larkin is on Team Turkiye.

Jovic has uneven back-to-back

Nikola Jovic and Serbia are unbeaten in the tournament so far. Jovic had 18 points on Friday against Portugal with six rebounds. Then the Serbs played a back-to-back today against Latvia. Latvia is led by Kristaps Porzingis. Jovic finished with one point on 0/3 shooting. He played 28 minutes.

Jovic had a good Eurobasket tournament in 2022. The most important thing is for Jovic to be more involved in consequential winning plays for the Serbs. Nikola Jokic had 39 points in today’s game, so he is “the straw that swirls the drink.” Jovic has had an allergy for getting rebounds during his time with Miami. He could help greatly by “getting in the mud” more often.

Fontecchio has tough opening game

Fontecchio and Italy played against Georgia in their first tournament game. Fontecchio finished with 14 points on 10 shots. He played 29 minutes. Italy has the journeyman Danilo Galinari also on their team. Italy will then play Bosnia and Herzegovina in Cyprus tomorrow.

Spain is the defending Eurobasket champion but lost their opening game to Georgia. Italy, Spain and Greece comprise “the Group of Death” in the tournament. Georgia has NBA player Gogo Bitadze and Bosnia has Jusuf Nurkic playing for them which will put pressure on the aforementioned teams.